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MEMBER DIARY

Polls!

The latest results are somewhat mixed. First, Obama has received some good news in that he appears to have regained a modest lead over McCain in the latest Gallup survey. However, there is bad news as well:

Barack Obama has lost ground among some of his strongest bases of support, including young people, women, Democrats and independents, according to a new ATV/Zogby poll.

The Illinois Democrat has also lost some support among African-Americans and Hispanics, where his lead over Republican John McCain has shrunk, and among Catholics, where he’s lost his lead.

The net result, pollster John Zogby found, is a race that’s neck and neck, with McCain supported by 42 percent; Obama by 41 percent; Libertarian Bob Barr by 2 percent; and independent Ralph Nader by 2 percent. Another 13 percent supported other candidates or were undedcided.

But an AP/Ipsos poll gives Obama a 6 point lead, 47 to 41 percent, with solid margins among women, minorities and young voters.

Zogby called the results of his poll a “notable tunaround” from a July survey he did that showed Obama leading by 46-36.

“McCain made signifciant gains at Obama’s expense among some of what had been Obama’s strongest demographic groups,” Zogby said.

Bottom line? Same as it ever was; this is a surprisingly close race and those who believed/hoped that Barack Obama would win in a landslide have thus far been surprised/disappointed/a little bit of both.